The NY Knicks are coming into the season with high expectations after signing back Carmelo Anthony and Phil Jackson may look at trade deals this year to help clear cap space for 2015 to sign Marc Gasol or LaMarcus Aldridge with names like Amar'e Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani, JR Smith, Iman Shumpert and Pablo Prigioni as players that could move at the deadline.
The Knicks started off the season horribly last year with just three wins in 13 games and now Anthony comes back looking to put that totally in the past. The team has already put together a more talented roster than last season with the moves they have made and they should be back in the east playoffs mix. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Knicks have shopped a number of players this summer and they also are planning to shop Stoudemire at the trade deadline. The team has made offers with Iman Shumpert, JR Smith and Andrea Bargnani and reports have the Knicks looking to offload Stoudemire to a team with cap space like the Philadelphia 76ers since he is on an expiring contract.
The Knicks are hoping to set themselves up for free agency next season when names like Rajon Rondo, Marc Gasol, Greg Monroe and Eric Bledsoe could potentially be on the market. The Lakers will be in the mix as well with the money they have to spend and the expiring deals on their roster and that should be very interesting with Jackson and LA going head to head. The Knicks have made multiple trades already this summer and that has helped make them a better team than last season.
The Knicks also shopped Prigioni this summer and that likely means they will hang on to Shane Larkin as their reserve guard and backup when needed. Larkin was also mentioned in trade rumors, but with the age difference between him and Prigioni, it's likely Jackson tries to move the veteran first before pulling off a trade with Larkin. Jackson has already pulled off a couple of trades that help make the Knicks a better team, including moving Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler to the Mavericks for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert and Larkin. The move got rid of salary and players that were not playing up to their contracts while also upgrading completely at point guard.
Felton was horrible last season and adding Calderon is a much better option at point guard for Carmelo Anthony. The team also drafted Cleanthony Early as a backup option for Anthony and the trade with the Kings got the team Travis Outlaw and that should help with Anthony's wear and tear as well. Last season Anthony had so much on his shoulders and while he will again this season, the team at least has some support for him.
Last season the team won just 37 games and missed the playoffs in a bad eastern conference and now they will have the chance to rectify all of that. Jackson, Derek Fisher and Anthony are all on five year deals and that means they will have the chance to build a team together to try and win a championship.